Evolution / Genetics

8,000 year old settlement found in Iran's West Azarbaijan Province

Iranian and Austrian archaeologists (from the University of Innsbruck) excavated Ana Qizli Mound in Choras Village of Chaipareh, in Iran's West Azarbaijan Province, during the first season of excavation from October 4 to 16.

Excavation of the Ana Qizli Mound [Credit: Iran Daily]

Head of the excavation team Gholam Shirzad said that the team identified traces of human settlement dating to the Neolithic Era.

He added the archaeologists came across 8,000-year-old remains, including stone tools and stone blades made of granite and flint.

Shirzad pointed out that pottery painted with Urartu designs were also unearthed at the Ana Qizli Mound site indicating the existence of a settlement dating to the Urartu Era.

The main purpose of this excavation was to conduct geomagnetic studies to assess the region’s potential for further excavations, he noted.

He noted that stone walls dating to the Urartu Era were found in the first layer of the mound, adding the second and third layers would be excavated in the coming spring.

The Ana Qizli Mound, located 600 meters from Choras Vilage, was registered on Iran's National Heritage List in 2002.

West Azarbaijan Province borders Turkey, Iraq and Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, and the Iranian provinces of East Azarbaijan, Zanjan and Kurdestan. Its capital and largest city is Orumieh.

Permanent settlements were established in the province as early as the sixth millennium BCE as evident from excavations conducted at sites such as Hassanlou Hill. In Hassanlou, a famous Golden Vase was found in 1958.